Obama coattails: Equal numbers approve, disapprove of Dems

President Barack Obama continues to ride high approval ratings and an equal number of respondents approve of how congressional Democrats are handling their job as disapprove, according to a new poll.

The Quinnipiac University Poll, released Wednesday, found that nearly six in ten of 2,573 voters approve of Obama’s job performance while a quarter disapprove. The poll also found that nearly two thirds think Obama is performing about as well as they expected him to while nearly two in ten say he is doing better than expected and nearly one in ten say he is doing worse.

Obama’s performance is having a very positive effect on how the public views congressional Democrats. Forty-five percent approve of how congressional Democrats are handling their job, the same number that disapprove. On the flip side, nearly six in ten disapprove of congressional Republicans, while three in ten approve.

Peter Brown, an assistant director at Quinnipiac, told The Hill that congressional Democrats are benefiting from Obama’s popularity in a big way. “Voters are willing to give the Obama administration an opportunity to implement its agenda,” he said. “In a big picture sense, congerssional Democrats are part of the Obama team, so it’s not surprising that their numbers are where they are.”

Democrats have seen their popularity rise dramatically since Obama took office. A Gallup Poll released on Monday showed that both Republicans and Democrats have seen their approval ratings rise, with Democrats topping out at 47 percent. Congressional Republicans’ approval rating jumped to 36 percent in that poll.

Respondents also prefer Obama, and perhaps by extension congressional Democrats, to handle the economy. When asked if they trust Obama or congressional Republicans on the economy, 56 percent said Obama, 25 percent said Republicans and 18 percent were unsure.

jeremy.jacobs@digital-release.thehill.com